Reason Foundation

The Reason Foundation is a libertarian public policy think tank that promotes individual liberty, free markets, and limited government. 1 The Reason Foundation advocates for consumer freedom, school choice, and government reform. 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Issue Areas: Multi-Issue Advocacy
Website: reason.org%20%20
Founded:

1979

President & CEO:

David Nott

Location: Los Angeles, CA View on map
Tax ID: 95-3298239
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2025): Assets: $29,097,754 Revenue: $22,810,664 Expenses: $21,964,556

Contents

    The Reason Foundation publishes Reason magazine and produces the ReasonTV web video series. 1

    The Reason Foundation is an associate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. 3 While the Reason Foundation is non-partisan, members of its staff and board have affiliations with the Republican Party.

    Activity

    The Reason Foundation advocates for consumer freedom and against potential bans on e-cigarettes, flavored vaping devices, and menthol cigarettes. The Reason Foundation claims that bans on e-cigarettes could prevent smokers from switching to safer alternatives and that bans on flavored vaping devices will not necessary improve public health and could lead to the creation of an illicit market. 4 Along with other civil rights and criminal justice reform organizations including the left-progressive American Civil Liberties Union Reason Foundation opposes a U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban on menthol cigarettes. These groups claim that a ban will ultimately lead to criminalization, which will disproportionately impact people of color, and deprioritize public health concerns. 5

    The Reason Foundation advocates for school choice and believes students should be funded directly instead of school systems. It asserts that school choice in the form of education savings account (ESAs) allows more families to access alternatives to education in monopoly government-run schools, effectively equalizing opportunities. The Reason Foundation also combats the assertion of ESA opponents, who commonly claim that ESAs take money away from already underfunded public schools. 6

    The Reason Foundation advocates for government reform, especially reduced taxes and government budgets. The foundation opposes the Biden administration proposals to increase taxes, instead recommending cuts in spending and increases in the use of public-private partnerships to build infrastructure. 7 In light of the federal government’s COVID-19 pandemic response, the foundation also recommends that states, major cities, and counties should submit monthly cash reports in a standardized, timely manner to allow federal policymakers to better understand revenues and expenditures in real time. While some states and cities already provide these reports, the foundation asserts that if the country’s largest 200 state and local governments provided timely reports, improvements in data and analytics would lead to better decision-making in the event of another financial emergency. 8

    Funding

    The Reason Foundation is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. The foundation does not disclose its donors, but tax filings confirm donations from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation ($1.7 million in 2017), 9 the Searle Freedom Trust ($905,000 in 2018), 10 and the Dunn Foundation ($875,000 in 2013). 11

    People

    Staff

    David Nott is the president and CEO of the Reason Foundation and former president of both the Institute for Humane Studies and the Mercatus Center.

    Mike Alissi is the vice president of operations at the Reason Foundation and the publisher of Reason magazine. Alissi is a former director at the Nuclear Energy Institute. 12

    Christian Barnard is an education policy analyst at the Reason Foundation who formerly worked for the Foundation for Government Accountability and the Pioneer Institute. 13

    Jon Graff is the chief financial officer at the Reason Foundation and former consultant to Physicians for Social Responsibility. 14

    Robert Poole is a co-founder of the Reason Foundation, where he is the director of transportation policy and a Searle Freedom Trust Transportation Fellow. Poole formerly served as a member of the 2000 Bush-Cheney transition team and as a privatization and transportation policy advisor to the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations. 15

    Marc Scribner is a senior transportation policy analyst at the Reason Foundation and a former senior fellow in transportation policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. 16

    Board of Trustees

    Stephen Modzelewski is the chair of the Reason Foundation and sits on the board of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public-interest law firm. 17

    Thomas Beach sits on the board of DonorsTrust and the Property and Environment Research Center. 18

    Baron Bond sits on the board of the Cato Institute 19 and is a trustee at the Atlas Society. 20

    Rebecca Dunn is a trustee at the Dunn Foundation and formerly sat on the boards of the James Madison Institute and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. 21

    Boyden Gray formerly worked as counsel to Vice President and later President George H.W. Bush during both the Reagan and Bush Administrations. 22

    Brian Hooks is chair and CEO of Stand Together, president of the Charles Koch Foundation, and former executive director and COO of the Mercatus Center. 23

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2025 $29,097,754 $22,810,664 $21,964,556
    2024 $25,642,938 $23,300,815 $19,863,540 View
    2023 $19,398,270 $15,456,947 $17,507,487 View
    2022 $17,225,914 $15,233,016 $14,980,930 View
    2021 $19,282,371 $15,534,857 $13,413,869 View
    2020 $15,187,245 $16,170,727 $13,074,096 View

    Prior year filings: 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    • Number of Employees: 113

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    David NottPRESIDENT, CEO$407,827
    Adrian T MooreVICE PRESIDENT POLICY$256,830
    Jonathan GraffCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER$250,251
    Leonard GilroyVP GOVERNMENT REFORM$250,237
    Nicholas GillespieEDITOR AT LARGE$247,174
    Katherine Mangu-WardVP/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF$240,585
    Robert PooleFOUNDER, TRANSPORTATION POLICY$240,000
    Michael AlissiVP OPERATIONS$230,439
    Jacqueline PykeDIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT$179,167
    Aaron SteinbergMARKETING DIRECTOR$179,091
    James EpsteinEXECUTIVE EDITOR$173,481
    Carin MannDIR OF DONOR COMMUNICATIONS$157,826

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $94,021,362
    • Number of Grants: 1,328
    • Number of Funders: 275

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $5,209,5852023 Donors Trust Incfor general operations
    $4,987,2252024 Donors Trust Incfor general operations
    $2,647,8502024 Vanguard CharitableFOR RECIPIENT'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
    $2,075,5822023 Vanguard CharitableFOR RECIPIENT'S EXEMPT PURPOSE
    $1,565,7422021 Vanguard CharitableFOR RECIPIENT'S EXEM
    $1,500,0002021 Arnold VenturesTO IMPROVE STATE AND MUNICIPAL PENSION SYSTEMS.
    $1,406,3692021 Charles Koch InstituteEDUCATION
    $1,400,0002020 Arnold VenturesTO IMPROVE STATE AND MUNICIPAL PENSION SYSTEMS.
    $1,258,0002020 Charles Koch InstituteEducation
    $1,257,2422022 Vanguard CharitableFor recipient's exempt purpose
    $909,6502023 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
    $900,1172022 Gates Foundationto ensure that State funding adequately and equitably supports the pursuit of improved educational outcomes for low income, Black and Latinx Students
    $600,0002021 The Searle Freedom TrustFILM AND NEW MEDIA
    $600,0002020 The Searle Freedom TrustFILM AND NEW MEDIA
    $520,0002020 Equable InstituteFor Reason's project to advance its technical assistance work to support reform efforts in six states.
    $500,0002024 Walton Family FoundationTo support general operations.
    $500,0002021 Claws Foundation C/o Sterling Foundation Management LLCGENERAL SUPPORT
    $450,1172024 Gates FoundationK-12 EDUCATION
    $401,1002020 Donors Trust Incfor general operations
    $400,0002024 Sarah Scaife Foundation IncorporatedPENSION INTEGRITY PROJECT
    $400,0002021 Susquehanna FoundationGENERAL FUND
    $350,0002021 Walton Family FoundationTo pursue and advocate for reforms that make school finance systems more equitable, transparent, portable, and flexible.
    $300,0002024 Sarah Scaife Foundation IncorporatedGENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
    $300,0002024 The Searle Freedom TrustFELLOWSHIPS
    $300,0002023 The Searle Freedom TrustFILM AND NEW MEDIA

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $495,602
    • Number of Grants: 4
    • Number of Recipients: 3

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $280,0002023 Equable InstituteJOINT WORK ON PROJECTS RELATED TO PUBLIC SECTOR DEBT
    $80,0002022 Equable InstituteJOINT WORK ON PROJECTS RELATED TO PUBLIC SECTOR DEBT
    $75,6022023 Florida Policy Project IncFISCALLY SPONSORED PROJECT ACHIEVED 501C3 STATUS
    $60,0002025 Arizona State University FoundationFUTURE OF TRANSIT

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    Contact Us

    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “About Reason Foundation.” Reason Foundation. Accessed August 13, 2021. https://reason.org/about-reason-foundation/.
    2. “Policy Areas.” Reason Foundation. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://reason.org/policy-areas/.
    3. “The Network: California.” State Policy Network. Accessed August 13, 2021. https://spn.org/directory/#CA.
    4. “Individual Freedom.” Reason Foundation. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://reason.org/topics/individual-freedom/.
    5. Bentley, Guy. “10 Reasons Why the FDA Should Not Ban Menthol Cigarettes.” Reason Foundation. April 29, 2021. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://reason.org/commentary/10-reasons-the-fda-should-not-ban-menthol-cigarettes/.
    6. DeAngelis, Corey A. “School Choice Myths Should Not Block Educational Freedom.” Reason Foundation. February 19, 2021. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://reason.org/commentary/school-choice-myths-should-not-block-educational-freedom/.
    7. [1] Moore, Adrian. “Instead Of Tax Increases, President Biden Should Cut Spending And Use Public-Private Partnerships.” Reason Foundation. April 1, 2021. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://reason.org/commentary/instead-of-tax-increases-president-biden-should-cut-spending-and-use-public-private-partnerships/.
    8. Joffe, Marc. “COVID-19 Pandemic Response Illustrates Need for Better State and Local Financial Data.” Reason Foundation. March 30, 2021. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://reason.org/commentary/federal-covid-19-pandemic-response-illustrates-need-for-better-state-and-local-financial-data/.
    9. Laura and John Arnold Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part XV, Line 3a.
    10. The Searle Freedom Trust, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018, Part XV, Line 3a.
    11. The Dunn Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2013, Part XV, Line 3a.
    12. “Mike Alissi.” LinkedIn 2021. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-alissi-36b6b610/.
    13. “Christian Barnard.” Reason Foundation. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://reason.org/author/christian-barnard/.
    14. “Jon Graff.” LinkedIn 2021. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jongraff/.
    15. “Robert Poole.” Reason Foundation. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://reason.org/author/robert-poole/.
    16. “Marc Scribner.” Reason Foundation. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://reason.org/author/marc-scribner/.
    17. “Board of Directors.” Institute for Justice. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://ij.org/about-us/board-of-directors/.
    18. “Directors and Staff.” DonorsTrust. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://www.donorstrust.org/who-we-are/directors-and-staff/.
    19. “Cato Leadership.” Cato Institute. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://www.cato.org/about/leadership.
    20. “Baron Bond, JD.” The Atlas Society. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://www.atlassociety.org/staff-trustees-and-authors/baron-bond-jd.
    21. “Trustees.” Dunn Foundation. Accessed August 15, 2021. http://www.dunnfoundation.org/trustees.htm.
    22. “Hon. C. Boyden Gray.” The Federalist Society. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://fedsoc.org/contributors/c-boyden-gray.
    23. “About Us.” Charles Koch Foundation. Accessed August 15, 2021. https://charleskochfoundation.org/about-us/.